Coleus plant named ‘UF16-27-1’

ABSTRACT

‘UF16-27-1’ is a new coleus plant with novel characteristics that include a vigorous compact spreading growth habit, an excellent heat tolerance, and consistent bright chartreuse leaves. It has superior stability in foliage color in both sun and shade conditions, maintaining stable color in all conditions. ‘UF16-27-1’ is unique because it grows twice as wide as it grows tall, which is a characteristic not seen in comparable commercial cultivars.

Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: Plectranthus scutellarioides.

Cultivar denomination: ‘UF16-27-1’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of coleus plant named ‘UF16-27-1’. ‘UF16-27-1’ originated from an open-pollination conducted in May-November 2015 in Gainesville, Fla. between the female coleus plant ‘UF15-18-18’ (unpatented) and an unknown male coleus plant. A single seedling was chosen in May 2016 for further asexual propagation in Gainesville, Fla.

‘UF16-27-1’ has been reproduced asexually for over 18 months through vegetative cuttings and has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations. ‘UF16-27-1’ was first propagated asexually by meristem tip cuttings in May 2016 in Gainesville, Fla., and has remained true-to-type since that time.

‘UF16-27-1’ has leaves that are uniform in size and uniformly chartreuse in color, whereas, ‘UF15-18-18’, the female parent, has smaller leaves that are predominantly chartreuse in color, but are tinged with red throughout the leaf. ‘UF16-27-1’ has an extremely vigorous spreading growth habit with plants growing much wider than they are tall; whereas, ‘UF15-18-18’ is much less vigorous, and much more upright in habit with less lateral branching.

‘UF16-27-1’ has similar bright chartreuse foliage color to commercial variety ‘UF08-4-3’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,585), but it has a different leaf shape and is not upright and rangy in habit. ‘UF16-27-1’ has leaves similar in shape and color to commercial variety ‘UF12-30-6’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,140), but it has a different plant growth habit. ‘UF16-27-1’ grows in a spreading form growing wider than it is tall; whereas, ‘UF12-30-6’ is upright and grows taller than it is wide.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following are characteristics of ‘UF16-27-1’ when grown under normal horticultural practices in Gainesville, Fla. ‘UF16-27-1’ has a novel, vigorous, spreading growth habit, an excellent heat tolerance, and consistent bright chartreuse leaves that are significantly different than other coleus plants. It has superior stability in foliage color in both sun and shade conditions, maintaining stable color in all conditions. When ‘UF16-27-1’ is grown as a stock plant, it has a vigorous but compact spreading growth habit with excellent lateral branching, and thus provides ample vegetative propagules for producers. ‘UF16-27-1’ has been observed to have long-season performance in landscape trials in Gainesville, Fla.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This new coleus plant is illustrated by the accompanying photographs, which show the plant's form and foliage. The colors shown are as true as can be reasonably obtained by conventional photographic procedures. The photographs in FIGS. 2 and 3 are of plants grown for 11 weeks from unrooted cuttings in May-July 2017 in a poly-covered plastic greenhouse in Gainesville, Fla.

FIG. 1—Shows the pedigree of ‘UF16-27-1’.

FIG. 2—Shows the growth habit, form, and foliage of ‘UF16-27-1’.

FIG. 3—Shows a close-up of the foliage of ‘UF16-27-1’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description sets forth the distinctive characteristics of ‘UF16-27-1’. The detailed description was obtained using 10-week-old plants grown from unrooted cuttings in May-July 2017 in a poly-covered plastic greenhouse in Gainesville, Fla. The plants were propagated in mist for 10 days after cuttings were stuck and then grown in 1-gallon pots for approximately 8.5 additional weeks. Color references are to The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society of London (R.H.S.), 2007 5th Edition.

-   Classification:     -   -   Family.—Lamiaceae.         -   Botanical.—Plectranthus scutellarioides.         -   Common name.—Coleus.         -   Cultivar name.—‘UF16-27-1’. -   Plant description:     -   -   Form.—Spreading.         -   Habit.—Upright.         -   Height (from top of soil).—30-35 cm.         -   Width (horizontal plant diameter).—60-65 cm. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type cuttings.—Vegetative meristems having at least 1 node.         -   Time to initiate roots.—3-4 days.         -   Time to produce a rooted cutting.—7-10 days.         -   Root habit.—Fibrous.         -   Root description.—Callus forms in 2 to 3 days, roots             initiate in 3-4 days and become a highly branched cutting in             7-10 days. -   Branches:     -   -   Quantity per plant.—8-9.         -   Branch color.—RHS 144A.         -   Texture.—Smooth.         -   Pubescence.—Not present.         -   Stem description.—Square-shaped stem, 0.7 cm in diameter at             the soil line.         -   Branch diameter.—0.5-0.6 cm at the base of a 32 cm long             branch.         -   Branch length.—30-32 cm.         -   Internode length.—4-5 cm.         -   Anthocyanin.—Not present. -   Leaves:     -   -   Quantity of leaves per branch.—16-18.         -   Arrangement.—Opposite.         -   Fragrance.—Not fragrant.         -   Shape.—Ovate.         -   Length.—10-12 cm.         -   Width.—8-9 cm.         -   Apex.—Broadly acute.         -   Base.—Rounded.         -   Margin.—Crenate.         -   Leaf texture (both surfaces).—Smooth.         -   Pubescence color (both surfaces).—Not present.         -   Venation color.—Upper surface: Center: RHS 144A. Lower             surface: RHS 145A.         -   Venation pattern.—Upper surface: Reticulate. Lower surface:             Reticulate.         -   Color.—Immature leaf: Upper surface: RHS N144C. Lower             surface: RHS 145B.         -   Color.—Mature leaf: Upper surface: RHS N144C. Lower surface:             RHS 145A.         -   Petiole length.—3-4 cm.         -   Petiole diameter.—0.2-0.3 cm.         -   Petiole color.—RHS N144B.         -   Petiole texture.—Smooth, no pubescence. -   Flowers and seeds: Flowers and seeds have not been observed to date     during formal trials in Gainesville, Fla. -   Fruit/seed set: Fruit/seed not observed. -   Disease and insect resistance: Disease and insect resistance is     typical of the species, and thus no claims are made of any superior     disease or insect resistance with this cultivar. The most common     insect pests observed on this plant in Gainesville, Fla. have been     long-tailed or citrus mealybugs (Pseudococcus sp.), which occur on     older stock plant material held in the greenhouse for over 3-4     months. Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (Bunyaviridae) has also been     observed in plants confined in greenhouses with mixed crops     (peppers) infected with Western flower thrips (Frankliniella     occidentalis). The most common pathogen of this species in the U.S.     is downy mildew (Peronospora lamii). This pathogen has been observed     in stock materials grown closely together in cooler growing seasons. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A new and distinct Plectranthus scutellarioides plant called ‘UF16-27-1’ as shown and described herein. 